Leaving You
by Xymena Falling
Summary: Leaving your significant other can be hard. It's even harder if you still love them. NaruxMai honest .
1. Chapter 1

Leaving You

Chapter 1

Mai gently opened the door to the office where she worked. She tried to do it quietly. She was leaving for the day but she didn't want to alert it to the whole world. She hadn't said goodbye, but that didn't matter. Not anymore.

She turned to give Naru's office door one last wistful look. Part of her wanted to say goodbye, but she knew she didn't have the guts. She turned again and left the office.

She hurried through the streets to her apartment.

It wasn't really hers. She didn't own it; she never had and probably never would. Technically, it was Naru's, but she spent more time there than he did. Not really surprising.

It didn't take her long to find a suitcase. She could feel butterflies in her stomach, even though she felt like she shouldn't be nervous. She should be strong and in control. It wasn't like she was doing anything impulsively.

Still, leaving Naru made her feel uneasy. But she'd made up her mind. It wasn't like he loved her anymore. Once, maybe. But things had gotten so much worse that she couldn't stand it any longer.

She didn't even know what time he came home anymore. It was always after she'd gone to bed, and he always left before she woke up. Loneliness hurt. She would have thought she was used to it, after all those years living by herself, but it seemed she wasn't.

She was tired of being alone. She woke up alone. She ate alone. She worked almost alone. She went home alone. She watched movies alone. She went to bed alone. For all she knew, she slept alone too. She hardly ever saw him anymore.

Packing took longer than it should have. She was torn. Half of her wanted it just to be over, and half of her wanted to linger, wait for him to come home, and let him stop her. But she wasn't going to wait half the night to see if he even would come home. She kept glancing out the window, as if she was waiting for him to come back. She shook her head. She would be the strong one here, and leave him, not the other way round. Break his pride.

She opened a drawer. It was full of knick knacks, things she'd kept over the years. Old movie tickets. A keychain. Drawings. Photos. She pulled out a whole bunch of things. Most of them were linked to Naru. Tickets to places she'd been with him. Photos of them together, or even just him. Objects from shops she'd dragged him to. Most of them went in the bin. She wasn't going to keep anything. Things from her childhood she kept. Things linked to Naru went. She picked up a photo of him. She'd taken it herself and was quite proud of it. She liked the way it had turned out, but when she'd shown it to him he'd made some witty remark. Her hands seemed to move of their own accord and the picture fell to the ground in a small shower of paper, like snow. But Naru snow. She frowned. Well, it wasn't like she could piece it back up together again.

She was about to leave when she remembered something.

She wore a necklace around her neck. It'd been a birthday present from Naru. Admittedly, she'd had to practically give him a picture of the thing and the name of the shop, but the point was that he'd bought it for her. It was precious to her, but now she didn't want it. She hesitantly took it off and left it on the dining room table, then left the apartment, locking it behind her.

* * *

><p>Back in his office, Naru sighed and leaned back in his chair. Finally, it was all completed, and he could stop spending ridiculous amounts of time in his office. He could go home at a normal time.<p>

Naru didn't hate working, but he loathed paperwork. Especially if it was there because of some stupid reason. But now, all the paperwork was done, and he could enjoy himself again. He glanced at his watch. It was only 9. That was a definite improvement from midnight, which was when he'd been going home for the past week or so. He packed up his things and turned off his office lamp, leaving him in darkness, the only light coming from the lampposts outside. Lin had already left for the day. He hadn't been bombarded with forms to fill and things to set right like Naru had.

He was mildly surprised to find the front door locked. Mai must have gone to bed early. Once inside he kicked off his shoes and turned on a lamp. If Mai was asleep he didn't want to wake her. He spotted the necklace on the table, and went over to it, picking it up and turning it over in his fingers, inspecting it. He recognised it almost instantly as the necklace he'd bought for Mai's birthday. His eyes narrowed.

"Mai?" He called. There was only silence. "Mai?" He called again, but this time it was slightly louder. Frowning, he went into the bedroom.

The bed was empty, made up neatly. He tried the bathroom. Empty. The kitchen. Empty. He tried every room in the apartment. She wasn't there. He pulled out his phone and called her phone, pacing restlessly. When she didn't pick up he swore. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach as he looked at the necklace. She wouldn't leave it lying around, there hadn't been a day since she'd gotten it she hadn't wore it.

He went back into the bedroom and spotted the small pile of paper on the ground. A picture of him, now ripped into little pieces. He opened one of her drawers, just to make sure. It was completely clean and empty, like there never had been any socks in it.

* * *

><p>"Mai?" A woman with red hair asked as she took in the sight of her friend towing a suitcase behind her and looking like she was trying not to cry.<p>

"I'm sorry to intrude on you like this, but… I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Why? What happened?"

"I… I left Naru."

"What? Why? Did he hurt you?"

"No, but…"

"But you two have been dating for years!"

"I know…" Mai mumbled, finally giving into sobs. Ayako hugged her reassuringly.

"You can stay with me, I have a spare room." Mai nodded into the other woman's chest. Ayako was still about a head taller.

"Thanks."

"But you have to tell me everything, okay?" Mai nodded again. "Now, come in and I'll make you some hot chocolate."

* * *

><p>"So, what happened?" They were sitting in Ayako's kitchen, drinking hot chocolate.<p>

"Well…" Mai paused. Where to begin? "Naru doesn't love me anymore. I hardly ever see him. I don't even know if he still lives in the apartment. He could be two-timing me for all I know."

"Naru wouldn't cheat on you. He has pride, you know."

"Yeah, so he probably thinks it's cool to date more than one girl at once."

Ayako frowned. "I don't think he would do it. When did it start? Has it always been like this?"

"I only really started noticing it about a week ago. That was when he stopped coming home before a reasonable time. I tried to confront him about but he just said it was none of my business. So I decided that I should leave him before he leaves me. He owns the apartment, anyway."

"He could just have work, you know."

"Then why didn't he tell me?"

"I don't know! He's Naru! He can't communicate to save his life!"

"It _never _was this bad." Mai said, wiping cream off her top lip. "You don't mind me staying here for a while, do you?"

"Nah, it's cool. I'm so going to give you a makeover."

"What time is it?"

"Um… about 10. You look tired, you should go to bed."

Just then Mai's phone rang. She pulled it out and dropped it, still ringing, on the countertop.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Ayako asked, confused.

"It's Naru."

They waited like statues until the phone stopped ringing. "Ayako, can you do me a favour?"

"Sure."

"Don't tell Naru I'm staying here. Act like you don't know where I am."

"But I'm sure-"

"Please."

She sighed. "Fine. Now off to bed."

* * *

><p>Naru opened the door to the office even earlier than usual. He hadn't slept last night. The bed had seemed big and cold and empty without Mai's little sleeping body curled up in it. He fought back a wave of disappointment when he saw it was empty. Some wishful part of him had wanted to find Mai there, some for some innocent reason that she would soon explain to him, and all would be well.<p>

But of course, she wasn't there. Even if she hadn't left him, there was no way she'd be at the office at 6 in the morning. He sat down irritatedly in his chair. At a time like this, he wanted work to keep his mind busy. But he'd completed all the paperwork yesterday. Then he brightened up. Mai would still come to work, right? Then he could see her. He could try and win her back or something. He stifled a yawn as he looked at his watch, even though he knew what the time was.

He was still sitting there when Lin came at half seven.

He was still sitting there when John popped in for a visit.

He was still sitting there when Masako tried to take him out. She succeeded, but he didn't talk at all so she soon gave up.

But there was no sign of Mai whatsoever. John and Lin asked him where she was. To which he replied, "I don't know."

They understood what this meant, and didn't bother him at all. No wonder he was in such a grumpy mood.

Yet later Ayako and Monk turned up, their loud voices cutting through the silence in the office. Only then did he venture out of his office, just to check if Mai had come with her favourite people. They were alone, so the slam resonated through the office for a while afterwards.

He tried her mobile again. Again, she didn't pick up.

"Hi, this is Taniyama Mai. Sorry I can't get to the phone right now, but please leave a message or call back later!" Said a cheerful female voice. He paused as the beep rang out, but didn't say anything. Then he hung up.

"Naru, where's Mai?" Yasuhara popped his head into Naru's office.

"I don't know." He scowled. Yasuhara frowned.

"But you live with her!" He protested. "Is she ill?"

"I don't live with her anymore." He had a headache coming on, and Yasuhara wasn't helping.

Yasuhara left, and Naru could hear him muttering to Ayako and Bou-san that something had happened between Naru and Mai and one of them had left the other. The silence following was welcomed by Naru.

"All lovers have their arguments…" Yasuhara was muttering.

"I know. It must have been really bad for them to split up. If Mai's not living with Naru then where's she staying?"

Ayako bit her lip to avoid speaking.

"It can't be her old flat. She doesn't own it anymore."

Ayako sighed. "I just hope it'll work out…"

* * *

><p><strong>I've had this idea in my head for a while now, but we were going to publish it after Morbid had finished (the last chapter is almost completed!) and we have an idea for a new case but the first chapter isn't finished yet. Although I have yet to finish chapter 2, and have instead been occasionally writing random chapters of this story.<br>**

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Mai?" Ayako called as she entered her house.

No reply, but she could hear the faint noise of the TV. She entered the living room. Mai was asleep on the sofa, the TV blaring. She shifted a few hairs off Mai's face.

_You idiot._ She thought. _Why did you leave him?_

"Mai, wake up." She said, shaking her roughly.

"…What? Oh, hi Ayako. How was your day?" She sat up and stretched.

"Wasn't bad. I went to the SPR office."

"Oh. How was Naru?"

"He was…" Ayako tried to think of a word. "Depressed."

"Oh." Mai's face was unreadable. Probably a trick she'd picked up from Naru.

"Look, I know you think he thinks he doesn't love you anymore, but I think that he thinks it's the other way round."

Mai scrunched her face up. "I bet I'm the first girl to reject him." She said. "And I can't go back in time."

"At least talk to him."

"No!" Mai yelled unintentionally. "I can't do that." She continued.

"Why not? You're 24 now. You have to take responsibilities."

"I do take responsibilities. I was thinking of getting a job as a waitress."

"That's not what I mean."

* * *

><p>Naru held his head in his hands. He wondered where Mai was…<p>

_No! Don't think of her!_ His brain screamed at him. He looked down at his desk and slowly opened one of the drawers, rummaging around till he found it. A blue velvet box. He wondered what he was going to do with it now. He'd bought it for Mai, but now he couldn't give it to her. Maybe it'd been a stupid dream. Sighing, he put it back and closed the drawer.

He called her mobile yet again.

Yet again, she didn't pick up. He didn't leave a message.

He still had hopes she'd come back. Even if she left him, she wouldn't leave SPR, right? Besides, SPR was pretty much her family. She wouldn't abandon them. She would keep contact with at least one of them, if not all.

He just had to extract the information from them. Easier said than done. Sometimes they reminded him of clams.

There was the sound of his office door opening and he looked up. His eyes widened.

"Mai…"

She sat on his lap and hooked her arms around his neck, looking him in the eyes for a few brief moments before bringing her mouth to his and kissing him hungrily. He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer-

"Noll. Noll. Wake up." Someone was shaking him, waking him from his dream. He blearily opened his eyes, and turned his head, detaching his face from his desk in the process.

"What is it?" He asked Lin.

"It's 7 o'clock. Are you going home?"

He looked around his desk. There wasn't anything urgent to do, so he nodded. "May as well."

* * *

><p>Mai's phone rang, and she looked at it. Naru. She put it back, waiting for it to stop ringing. He didn't leave a message. Mai would have thought that if he had wanted her back, he'd leave her a message.<p>

"Oh yeah, Bou-san's coming tonight. I hope you don't mind."

"What?" Mai asked.

"I invited him last week."

"Why?"

"Because we're friends." Ayako rolled her eyes.

"Oh. Are you sure it's not because it's something more…?"

"No, Mai, shut up. Or I'll kick you out." She threatened. Mai pouted, but shut up.

There was the sound of the doorbell. "Ohh, that'll be him! Do I look okay?" Ayako fussed over her hair in a mirror, frowning at her appearance.

"You look lovely. You know, you could have told me he was coming more than five minutes beforehand."

Ayako didn't say anything, but ran off. She could hear the front door opening, and faintly Ayako and Bou-san talking, but couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Hi Bou-san." She said as they walked into the living room. He looked surprised to see her.

"Mai! What are you doing here?"

"I'm currently lying on the sofa."

"I can see that. But why did you and Naru split up?"

"He doesn't love me anymore."

"But-"

"He doesn't." She stated firmly. Monk opened his mouth to argue, but decided against it.

* * *

><p>Naru focused sadly on the necklace in his hand. He absently played with it for a few moments, recalling buying it and giving it to Mai. Then he closed his eyes. He needed to focus.<p>

He was Mai. It was an odd sensation. He tried to focus on the emotions. Sadness. Anger? At him? Desperation. But mostly sadness, like she hadn't wanted to do it. But then why had she done it? It didn't make sense.

He could feel his (or hers?) fingers straying to the necklace around his/hers neck. The fingers hesitantly undid it and placed it on the table. As soon as their fingers left the necklace the vision ended.

He opened his eyes and tried to make sense of the feelings. Anger. He'd felt that, bubbling down somewhere deep inside. It seemed to be directed at him. Desperation and sadness. Like leaving him had been the last thing she'd wanted to do. He frowned. That didn't make sense. His brain tried to find something that made sense.

He felt that he didn't really have to dissect the anger. Most people who knew him seemed to spend most of their time angry at him for one reason or another.

Aha. She hadn't wanted to give up her home and job – as far as he knew, she hadn't been searching for another job prior to their break up and she probably didn't have enough money for a proper place to live, and she'd probably grown attached to their apartment and didn't want to leave it – explaining the sadness, but she was desperate because she couldn't stand hm any longer yet didn't want to leave her home and job.

Content with his explanation, he got changed for bed.

Two completely sleepless hours later, he got up again and looked at the clock on his bedside table. Eleven pm. He stifled a groan. He tried calling Mai again; just to see if she was so sleepy she'd answer her phone without checking the caller ID. No such luck.

He laid down again and tried to get some sleep. And failed miserably. Another hour later he got up again and made his way to the kitchen. He rummaged around in some drawers. No sleeping pills. Damn. That only left a cup of tea. And perhaps a book. He found an unopened box of tea and skim read the label. Yeah, seemed fine. He quickly brewed a cup and selected a book he hadn't finished yet and curled up in an arm chair.

It wasn't long until he felt his eyelids droop – he'd hardly slept the night before, and was a lot more tired than he'd like to admit.

* * *

><p>The days melted into weeks, which in turn melted into months. Naru hadn't heard any news of Mai, and he had no way of contacting her. He suspected she'd bought a new sim card because the number wouldn't even dial when he tried calling her mobile. He had no idea whether she was still in Tokyo, but he suspected that one of his 'colleagues' had taken her in. But they were as silent as the grave.<p>

He'd received every sign that she wasn't coming back, but he still waited. He'd noticed the worried glances the others repeatedly gave him in the office, and even Lin had mentioned something about sleeping. Or was it eating? He wasn't sure. It didn't make that much difference because he wasn't doing much of either. He'd never been a great sleeper (or eater for that matter) but he realised that that his new routine was extremely unhealthy. Not that he cared.

After a particularly sleepless night he staggered into work next morning extremely early. He sat in his chair, not doing anything, but just staring at the desk. Before he knew it he was asleep, the hard wood feeling surprisingly comfy. He didn't wake up when Lin came, nor when the others arrived, loud as they were.

It was much later when he woke up, long after lunch time. And suddenly his thoughts seemed as clear as crystal. Mai wasn't coming back, no matter how long he sat staring at his apartment door for. And in that case what was the point of him staying? He wasn't even doing any work, and several disappointed potential clients had been turned away since Naru hadn't bothered to even interview them. He had taken a case near the beginning, just to see if she would at least come on that. But it was different without Mai there, more straightforward for a start, and it had felt wrong.

He stood up like a man with a purpose. He would go back to England. Clear his head. Maybe if he was away from the apartment and Japan he would stop thinking about her. When he'd gotten back into a regular routine, without the office hindering him, maybe then he would come back and search for her. He needed a break. To look at it all from a different perspective. And he couldn't do that when thoughts about Mai walking through the door prevented him from doing anything.

And he could ask for his parent's advice. His father understood women much better than he ever could, he'd know what to do. The sooner he left the sooner he'd come back. With all this in mind Naru booked the earliest flight he could catch.

Then he paused. What if Mai came back when he was gone? He'd… he'd have to go anyway. He could leave her a note explaining everything. Yes, write it all on paper. He'd never been that good at communicating his feelings face to face.

Naru scrabbled in his drawers for a clean piece of paper and a pen, then started to write.

* * *

><p>Ayako opened the door. Monk stood nervously on the door step.<p>

"Come in."

Monk obediently did so. Ayako led him into the sitting room. Monk noticed she looked paler the normal.

"Where's Mai?" He asked. Ayako bit her lip.

"She's working."

"Working?"

"She's decided to get a job. No, two jobs." She looked close to tears.

"And you're letting her?"

"No, she won't listen to me. I _told_ her it's too much, but she says she's saving up so she can move into her own flat and not be a burden on me."

The phone rang. Ayako composed herself, and then picked it up eagerly.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Is this Matsuzaki-san?"

* * *

><p>Naru cursed and dug deeper in his drawers. There must be an envelope here <em>somewhere<em>. His hand brushed against something hard but soft and he froze.

* * *

><p>"Yes, I'm Matsuzaki-san." Ayako said in disappointment. She'd hoped it would be Mai, or Naru having worked out where Mai was and phoning to shout at her, or try to speak to Mai.<p>

"You are the contact for Taniyama Mai?"

"Yes." Ayako breathed.

"What is it?" Monk asked, when Ayako had put the phone down. A tear rolled down Ayako's cheek.

"It's Mai."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks to everyone who reviewed! :3<strong>

**This story progressed so much faster than I'd expected. We just put about 3 months into one chapter. I originally thought it'd take a few more chapters. But nevermind. It also means we have to almost completely re-write another chapter.**

**Please review and let us know what you guys think!  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mai opened her eyes blearily, blinking at the bright lights.

"You're awake. How do you feel?" A voice asked from somewhere to her right. She moved her head and saw Ayako, watching her.

"My head hurts… what happened?"

"I got a call from your employer saying you'd passed out at work and were in hospital. What were you thinking, taking two jobs! You must have been exhausted!"

"I needed to save up…" Mai murmured weakly. She felt sleepy. "How long have I been out for?"

This time, it was Bou-san who spoke up. "Two days."

That woke her up. "Two days?"

"They gave you some sedatives to make sure you slept well. The doctor said that your collapse was from exhaustion and triggered by a shock."

She curled up underneath the warm blankets.

"Go to sleep." Ayako said soothingly. Mai nodded her head slightly, and let her eyelids close…

* * *

><p>There was a knock on her room door.<p>

"Come in." Mai called. The door opened, and Ayako, Bou-san, John, Masako, Lin and Madoka entered. Mai's eyes widened.

"Wow. Is everyone here?"

"Well, Naru isn't be-" Bou-san quickly shut up when Ayako elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"It's okay. I know he's in England." Mai said sadly.

"You do?"

"Yeah. Lin told me."

"Oh."

"I also know that you decided to quit my jobs 'for me'!" Mai yelled, angry that they had decided that they felt that they could interfere in her life without her permission. Bou-san looked uncomfortable.

"Yeah… well… can't you just work back at SPR?" He asked.

"Work at SPR?" Mai asked weakly. "Wouldn't Naru need to hire me?"

"Well, as he's in England, I'm officially the manager of the Japan branch." Madoka said. "I'd be happy to hire you. It'd be similar pay and hours."

"But Naru-"

"Naru need never find out. Except for when he returns, of course, but let's hope you two have everything sorted out by then."

Mai nodded slowly. Madoka beamed.

"So that's settled then!"

"See? You'll save up in no time. You didn't need two jobs."

_I couldn't get a job from Naru though_, Mai thought unhappily. Since she'd left him three months ago she'd wondered why she didn't want to meet Naru again. Then she'd clicked. She hadn't wanted to see him unaffected by her leaving. She didn't want to see him acting as though she'd never left him. She hadn't wanted proof that she was nothing to him.

"I don't have health insurance." Mai said unhappily. "It's going to cost me everything I saved at least."

"Why don't you have health insurance?"

"Because it costs money! And I was trying to spend as little as possible! I wasn't expecting to end up in hospital!"

Ayako sighed.

* * *

><p>Mai looked up from her book as Bou-san entered the room.<p>

"Yo Mai."

"Yo."

He opened his mouth to speak again, but there was a pause before the words actually came out.

"About your hospital fee…"

"Hm? Wait, you weren't going to pay for it, were you?" She asked in a tone of voice that implied if the answer was yes she would be very very angry. Bou-san squirmed.

"Well, we were all going to chip in a bit, but… it's already been paid."

"It's already been paid? By who?"

He shrugged. "We don't know. They asked the hospital not to tell anyone their name if someone asked."

Mai opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "Don't any of you have friends who are police? Can't we dress up as police? What about Ayako? She's a doctor…"

"Mai, you know fully well we can't dress up as police."

"How do I know it's not one of you guys?" Mai asked accusingly.

"I for one can't afford it. And I want to know who paid for it as much as you do."

"That's so unfair! I have a right to know who paid it!"

"You should be grateful. Now you don't have to pay for it."

"I am, but…" Mai frowned. It was either one of SPR or she had a very generous stalker.

There was a silence. Both of them sat there.

"Bou-san, I want to go to England."

"What? Why? I thought you didn't want to see Naru."

Mai silently opened a drawer and pulled out an envelope. She offered it to him and he saw the words Mai Taniyama written in elegant handwriting. He recognised the handwriting immediately. He raised his hand politely in decline.

"I don't want to read it. I can probably guess what's in it." He'd seen Naru at the office, often spending hours staring blankly out the window so that if Mai was coming back to the office he'd see her as soon as possible, enough times to work out what was in the letter, and he didn't want to invade on their privacy. Mai looked relieved, even though she said nothing, and she put it back.

"So I feel like I have to go to England."

He nodded slowly. "I get it. But what about money?"

"Oh, I'll have to save up. But I'll do it."

Monk nodded again.

Mai was discharged the next day. She stopped by reception on the way out to see if they would change their minds about not telling her who had paid the hospital fees. No such luck. She sat on the steps outside wondering how to get to Ayako's house.

"Hey Mai!"

Mai looked up. Someone was frantically waving at her from a car. She stood up and saw Madoka. She ran over.

"Madoka! What are you doing here?"

"I came by to see you since I feel bad for not being able to see you in hospital since a few days ago. You're discharged? I'll take you home."

"Thank you." Mai said quickly and got in, relieved that she didn't have to walk home.

"You're living with Ayako, right?"

"Yeah."

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Then, "I heard you want to go to England."

Mai nodded. "Yup."

"What a coincidence! I need to go to England. Why don't you come with me?"

"I don't have the money…"

"I can pay."

"No, I can't accept that."

"Well, if I'm honest, I already bought two tickets, but Lin only told me he wasn't coming _after_ I bought the tickets." She sighed. "Typical, isn't it?"

"But…"

"So if you don't accept I've wasted a plane ticket."

Mai frowned. "Um… But I don't have the money for a hotel either."

"Oh, that's okay. I'll sort that all out."

"You're not paying for my hotel." Mai stated.

"No, I won't be. Don't worry about anything. Just say you'll come. Pleeeaassee."

Mai continued thinking.

"Pretty please? Come on Mai, I really don't want to have wasted money on a plane ticket no-one's using. And I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Mai bit her lip thoughtfully. She did want to accept – it would take her forever to save up for two plane tickets and a hotel, and she didn't know her way around, and her English was hardly fluent. But she didn't want everyone to be paying for her all the time. She didn't like having to depend on others.

"Please say you'll come." Madoka said softly. Mai took a deep breath.

"Okay. I'll come." She said eventually. Madoka beamed.

"Great! It's next week. I'll send you all the details. But you have to promise me that you'll come. No backing out."

"I promise." Mai said.

"Awesome!"

* * *

><p><em>Some days earlier…<em>

_Mai wiped the table after the customers. The small café was pretty much empty – just her, the other waitress and a man having a coffee in the corner. She then rearranged the sauces into a pleasing pattern and gave the table one final wipe._

"_Ahem." A man cleared his throat next to her. Mai looked up, surprised. Then she looked even more surprised when she recognised the person who had cleared their throat._

"_Sorry to interrupt you during your work, Mai-san."_

"_Lin you know you can call me Mai. And that's okay, business is pretty lax anyway."_

_Lin said nothing. But Mai got the impression that he was about to speak, once he had put the words in the right order._

"_Is there something you wanted?" She asked in an attempt to help him along._

"_We need to talk."_

"_Er, okay. I think I can be spared for a few minutes. Do you want coffee, tea…?"_

"_No, I'm fine." They sat down at a table. "Naru's gone back to England."_

"_He has? Oh." She looked down, unsure how to take the news._

"_And I was in the office the other day, and, well, I spotted this in his bin." He pulled out from inside his coat an envelope, addressed to her. He handed it over. "I haven't read it, but I thought that as it's addressed to you, you might want it."_

"_Thank you." She said, accepting it. Curious, she opened it and started to read. _

* * *

><p><strong>Phew! Our laptop has a virus which we can't get rid of T_T so we sneakily wrote this on Mum's laptop while she's out. So it's a bit short, but next chapter will be even shorter and hopefully updated soon.<strong>

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews! Please review!**_  
><em>


	4. Chapter 4

To Mai.

It's always difficult to start. It's like that with everything.

I honestly can't remember when I first fell in love with you, but it was the start of a long, difficult, metaphorical path.

And I'm afraid I've never stopped loving you.

When we first started dating, I was so happy. I hadn't felt that happy since before Gene died. And then we spent nights together, and you agreed to move in with me, and I believe the expression is something along the lines of my heart wanted to burst. I'd found someone I loved, and the fact you loved me back made everything worthwhile. I even wanted to cut my working hours, just so I could see you more often, even if you made me watch those awful, boring movies that make no sense and I almost fall asleep about 10 minutes through, but you seem to like so much.

Except… My perfect world was not quite so perfect.

Work caught up on me, and I was suddenly surrounded by paperwork which couldn't be ignored, and I had to sort that mess out. I had stay behind extra hours, and then I finally finished everything.

But you were gone.

All your things were gone. You'd taken everything. It was as though you'd never existed. You even took the necklace, like you never wanted to have existed.

That hurt.

You didn't come to work. You didn't answer my calls. There was no contact.

It was clear. I no longer mattered; I was not wanted in your life.

That hurt too.

Taniyama Mai, the first girl to ever break my heart.

I'm afraid I'm not good with words or emotions. And I hate to be dramatic or over the top.

So I can't write how I felt. Devastated would be a good word, I suppose.

I wish I'd done something. Ignored that last batch of paperwork, finished it the next day. Maybe explained to you why I was coming home so late. But I didn't want you to worry.

I'm going to England. I haven't been for a while, and I hope it'll do me good. It can't hurt more than staying in Japan.

I don't know when I'll come back.

I hope one day I'll forget you and move on. England will help. I'll wipe your face from my dreams, I'll get used to sleeping without you there, I'll destroy those memories of you which hurt. You'll become a past colleague, a past lover. It'll be better for both of us.

From, Oliver.

Please note: I put the ring in the envelope because I don't have the heart to keep it or get rid of it. So I give it to you. Admittedly, I give it to you in conditions which are far from the conditions I would have liked. I'm afraid that the box didn't fit.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was a chilly day. Only to be expected. England was hardly famous for the fabulous weather.

"I haven't seen you for a while." A young woman took a sip out of a glass, watching the young man opposite her with cat like eyes.

"Hardly to be expected." He said dully, clearly not interested.

"I know. How long has it been since you've last been in England?" She said conversationally.

"A few years."

"And?"

"And what?"

"How was Japan?"

"Same as always."

She raised one plucked eyebrow expertly. "Really?"

"Yes."

"I heard," She purred, "You got a girlfriend. Is she in England too?"

"No."

"Oh. So you're not staying long, presumably."

"We split up a while before I returned."

"She broke it up or you?" She interrogated flawlessly.

He judged her for a second, watching her with completely serious, blue eyes. "Neither. We drifted apart and ended it peacefully." He lied. Then frowned. "But that was around four months ago. Surely you would have known?"

"But I haven't seen you in so long. It was years ago."

Yes, he thought. It had been years. Thank god for that.

"How did you hear I was in a relationship, anyway?"

"From Luella. She was over the moon with excitement."

"That sounds like mother."

"You should visit her more. She misses you when you go away. Especially ever since…" _Ever since Gene died._

He shrugged.

Their food came, and she tucked in elegantly. He didn't look very interested in his food, and even prodded it with his fork once, as if to check that it wasn't some kind of monster that would move on poking.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Play with your food. It's rude."

He gave her another very very serious look, before tucking in.

"So, how's work?" She asked sweetly, determined to force some conversation into the air.

"Same as always."

"Any interesting cases?"

"No."

"Made any breakthroughs?"

"No."

"I'm really starting to get the feeling you haven't done anything at work." She said, dabbing at the corner of her mouth with a tissue, careful not to ruin her makeup.

"I have. Most of it's just office work and paper work."

"I'd have thought with your brilliant mind, you'd get out of paperwork."

"Everyone does paperwork."

"What about experiments? Have you done any?"

"Not yet. We'll probably try to do one soon."

"What on?"

"We haven't decided yet."

She nodded. There was a lengthy pause in the conversation. He shifted in his chair distractedly. He didn't like restaurants much. Or her. He was only here because he'd been forced.

"How's Lin?" She asked eventually, tired of the suffocating silence between the two of them. "I presume you two are still in touch."

"He's fine."

"Are in contact with anyone else from Japan? Madoka? Your ex?"

"Just Lin and Madoka."

"Don't you ever encourage a conversation?"

"Sometimes." He said, trying to think of a conversation which he'd encouraged. There hadn't been many recently.

"Now is evidently not one of those times." She commented dryly, taking another sip. "You haven't asked me how I've been."

"Do I have to?"

"It's a social meeting. It's practically required."

"How have you been?" He said exasperatedly.

"Very well, thank you."

He wrinkled his nose. "See? What was the point of that?"

She narrowed her eyes imperceptibly.

"How was Japan?"

"I already told you about Japan."

"No, you haven't."

"It's just a country."

"What about the scenery."

"I spent most of my time in Tokyo."

"But not all, surely."

"No."

"So, what was it like _outside _ of Tokyo?"

"I wasn't paying attention. I was hardly there to sightsee."

"What was Tokyo like?"

"Big." He said truthfully.

"What was she like?" He hesitated.

"Who?" He asked carefully.

"You know exactly who."

He did know exactly who. He paused again and thought about it. Gentle. Kind. Warm. Beautiful.

"Small."

"You're really trying hard on the adjectives front, aren't you?" She said dryly. He pretended he hadn't heard her.

It was silent until the next course arrived.

"The cake's nice. Are you going to touch that?" She said, gesturing with her fork to his untouched tea cup.

"Yes." He took a sip, just to prove her wrong. He looked wistfully at the clock. She caught his gaze.

"Surely you don't want to leave already? You've hardly been here for any time at all."

"Do bear in mind I had no choice when I came here."

"Don't you like my company?"

"Not really."

"Don't be so nasty." She said, faint frown lines appearing on her otherwise smooth forehead.

"I'm not being nasty. You asked for my opinion, and I gave it."

"Haven't you ever heard of lying to be polite?" She asked, half sarcastic.

"A waste of time in my opinion."

She sighed dramatically. "What are you going to say when the queen knights you?"

"I'm not going to get knighted. I'm a parapsychologist. Most people consider my work to be 'mumbo-jumbo'."

"But you're a prodigy. Admittedly, your head is big enough without being called _Sir_ Oliver Davis."

"Dr. Oliver Davis is perfectly fine, actually."

"Hm." She gave him an incredulous look. "You sure?"

He didn't reply. Their plates were taken away, and they were presented with a bill.

"You're the gentleman." She hinted.

"What?" He asked distractedly.

"The gentleman always pays."

"But I didn't even want to come here. It was _your_ idea to have a little 'get together'."

"You're still paying."

"I thought it was usual to split the bill?"

"Oliver! You surprise me. Since when did you know something on what to do in public without insulting or offending someone?" She said sarcastically.

"Contrary to popular belief, I have been on social occasions before in my life."

"Really? How many of these 'social occasions' have you been on that didn't involve work in any shape or format and you went willingly?"

He paused. Okay, there hadn't been many. He frowned. Actually, there hadn't been _any_. He stayed silent.

"See? You're completely socially inexperienced."

"I'm not paying. We split or you pay."

"Fine." She said, flicking some hair over her shoulder. "We'll split."

He looked very faintly smug.

They paid the bill and left the restaurant, her walking towards the nearest tube station, he walking in the other direction, towards his office.

Once she'd been lost in the crowds, he breathed a sigh of relief. Finally free. Social occasions left him feeling with a need to hole himself up somewhere comforting, like his office, and stay there for a good deal of time. The last time he'd felt comfortable in a social situation, like a meal, had been with Mai, and he didn't want to go down that route again. Mai was to be buried up, hidden beneath work and avoiding social situations. He frowned. Except she getting digging herself out again. It was like Mai's presence wouldn't ever leave him.

He was walking down an almost empty road when his phone beeped, deep inside his coat pocket. He sighed again and pulled it out to survey the new message someone had probably sent him. It was probably his mother, or a someone from work.

* * *

><p><em>The squeal of tyres.<em>

_A car._

_The noise of a crash._

_An ambulance siren._

* * *

><p>"Excuse me, can I speak to Mrs. Luella Davis?"<p>

"Speaking."

"It's about your son, Mrs. Davis. I'm afraid there's been a car accident…"

* * *

><p><strong>Gosh guys, it's been, like, 5 months since I last updated this story. Opps. I just sort of lost confidence in it and I didn't want to complete it anymore but recently I found a great song for Leaving You so I figured I'd have another knack at this. <strong>

**Thanks for the reviews, and I'm sorry I'm such a slow updater :(**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Mai looked around. She was in a sombre room, uninviting and grey. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of the coffin. She slowly advanced towards it, an uneasy feeling growing in her gut.

"No!"

She couldn't contain it as she stared, horror struck. No…

Naru lay in the coffin, looking unusually peaceful, but Mai knew he was dead. His skin was the palest she'd ever seen it and he wasn't breathing.

No, no! He couldn't be dead. She refused to believe it, but when presented with his corpse, what was she meant to do?

She looked down, at her feet. To see that she was holding a black rose. She raised her hand to look at it properly. Only to realise that it was dripping a dark red. Blood. She instinctively knew that it was his blood. It coated her hands too, making them feel slimy and slick.

No, this wasn't happening. Naru wasn't dead. She hadn't killed him. She dropped to her knees.

She looked up again. The coffin had been replaced by a set of gravestones, and when she looked around she realised that she was now in a graveyard. She focused on the two gravestones in front of her that were side by side.

_Here lies Oliver Davis_

Her eyes widened, flickering to the one next to it.

It was Gene's grave, 10 years older, but still looking clean.

She let her tears drip down her face.

Then it was swirling into a black mess, and she heard the phone ringing, from far away.

She woke up from the dream and opened her eyes, hand reaching our groggily for her phone, which was ringing loudly her accursed ring tone.

"Moshi moshi?" She asked tiredly, looking at the clock on her bedside table. It was 4 in the morning.

"Mai!"

"Madoka?"

"It's, it's…" She sniffled slightly. Mai frowned, now wide awake.

"Madoka, what is it? What's happened?"

"It's Noll. A, a car hit him."

Mai's eyes widened, and her thoughts immediately flew to Gene's death and her dream. She remembered Naru's dead body and his grave. And Gene had been hit by a car too…

"Is he okay?" Mai asked, dreading the answer. "He's not… is he?"

"No, thank god. He's in hospital. They don't know how bad it is yet."

"That's a relief." Mai said, thoughts flashing again to her dream. "But… Gene…"

"I know, I know. Luella's in floods of tears and I haven't spoken to Martin but I'm sure he's shocked too. I've got to call Koujo, can you tell Ayako, Bou-san etcetera please?"

"I'll do that. Bye." Mai hung up, staring at the wall in front of her.

"Who was that?" Ayako's sleepy voice asked from her doorway. Mai stared at her in shock. Then a tear ran down her cheek.

"It's Naru… he got hit by a car."

"My god. Is-"

"He's in hospital. Madoka said that they don't know how bad it is yet."

Mai felt herself tear up. "It's my fault! It's all my fault!" She cried, breaking down. Ayako ran forward and sat next to her on the bed, hugging her. "If it wasn't me, he wouldn't have gone to England! What if he's in a coma? Or what if he dies? God, I'd never be able to live with myself…" She sobbed into the comfort of Ayako's arms.

"Shh. It'll be okay. Everything will all be okay…"

"But what if- what if-"

"It's okay Mai."

Images flash through Mai's head of Naru in a coffin, or attached to several machines in a hospital, never waking up, or confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. All because of her.

"Naru's tough. He'll be okay."

"What if he's not? Gene-"

"Mai, just because Gene was killed by a car doesn't mean it'll be the same for Naru. And anyway, he's alive, isn't he?"

Mai sniffed. "But what if he doesn't live? It'll be murder. I'd have killed him!"

"He will live Mai. I'm sure of it."

"Or what if he's so brain damaged that-"

"Mai." Ayako stopped hugging her and held her shoulders at arm's length. "Stop doing this. Putting yourself down. He's going to be okay, he's a stubborn bastard. So telling yourself that he isn't going to be fine is pointless and it'll only depress you."

"But-"

"Mai, trust me."

Mai bit her trembling lip so hard it almost bled, looking down and her hands which had uselessly flopped into her lap.

They didn't say anything for a long time. Then,

"I promised Madoka I'd tell the others."

Ayako sighed. "You're tired. Don't you want to wait till morning? I'm sure a few hours won't make any difference."

"Surely they should know as soon as possible."

"Listen Mai, it's 5 am. Get some sleep and call them when it's an acceptable time."

Mai looked at her for several moments. Then yawned.

"Okay then… if you're sure…"

* * *

><p>Mai hardly slept. Worry and fear gnawed at her soul and she tossed and turned fruitlessly.<p>

Around 8 she got up and staggered down to the kitchen and reached for the phone. Mai hated being the bringer of bad news, and it only depressed her more to tell all her friends what had happened. Today was not boding well, for anyone.

How long till she went to England? Not long. She glanced at the calendar which hung on the wall.

She fell asleep on the hard counter top, and awoke when Ayako came down a few hours later.

"Mai? How long have you been there?"

"Not long." She said. "I phoned everyone else and told them."

"You'll be going to England soon. You'll get to see him."

"If they'll let me. What if he doesn't want to see me? I abandoned him."

"God Mai, stop being so negative. He loves you. He'll want to see you. Of course he's going to be wary, but ultimately the fact that you came back and mended your mistake will matter the most."

"I worry."

"Too much. I worry about you."

"I worry about Naru."

"We know. You always have."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Madoka will call again with more information."

Mai nodded.

"So don't worry."

"I always will." Mai said sadly.

* * *

><p>The hospital was modern and Mai's feet were silent on the linoleum floors. She wandered through the ward, past single, double rooms, then larger rooms of four or six. He was here, somewhere among the dying and recovering…<p>

"Hello? I am looking for Oliver Davis," she said in thickly accented English.

"Ok, but he is asleep." The nurse said very slowly and loudly, putting her hands together under her head to mime sleeping. Mai nodded exasperatedly. Honestly, she could understand simple English.

The nurse briskly lead the way. Cautiously Mai followed, nervous and worried and scared and relieved at the same time.

As the nurse had said, he was unconscious, sleeping peacefully. She sat down on the chair next to his bed, taking him in after four months.

He'd lost weight, she could see that, and he looked slightly ill. There was a piece of gauze taped onto his cheek bone, where presumably he'd got cut badly, and he generally looked battered and bruised. Only to be expected after being slammed into by a car, she thought grimly. She stared at him for a long time, but he didn't even twitch a muscle, let alone wake up.

"He may not wake up for a while." A bemused voice said from behind her. Mai turned. The man in the bed opposite Naru's was looking at her intently. Mai stared at his leg. The man smiled.

"I look like something out of a cartoon, don't I?" He said, referring to his broken leg, which was hanging in the air in a sling.

"Er…" Mai hesitated. She wasn't that confident in her English and didn't know how well she could communicate to someone who was. "I am sorry but I am not English." She said.

"I can tell from the accent." He said dryly. "What nationality are you? Which country do you come from?"

"Japan."

"You're Japanese, huh? What's your name?"

"Mai."

"Nice name. I'm George. Nice to meet ya. Anyway, as I said, he may not wake up for a while."

"Why?" Mai asked, struggling to understand.

"He sleeps a lot. Quite heavily."

Mai nodded slowly, half wishing someone like Madoka was here so she could translate any bits Mai didn't understand.

"So, how'd you know him?" George asked, nodding his head towards Naru's slumbering body.

"P-pardon?"

"How do you know him?"

"Oh. Umm…" Mai hesitated, searching for the right words. Ex-boss? Ex-boyfriend? None of them really explained why she was here.

"If you don't know the word or don't want to tell me then that's fine." George waved his hand nonchalantly. Mai breathed a quiet sigh of relief, then turned back to Naru. She felt tempted to hold his hand but restrained herself. She shouldn't. She let out a wistful sigh.

* * *

><p>For the first time for a long while, Oliver actually felt rested, so much that he didn't actually open his eyes as soon as he woke up. His sleep hadn't been plagued by nightmares or dreams, he actually felt comfortable in the bed.<p>

His brain was still groggy from sleep, so he didn't question anything for a while, content to lie there, feeling blissfully comfortable in the haze of sleep.

But it couldn't last forever, and Oliver wasn't used to sleeping in. His brain was slowly waking up and starting to wonder what he had been doing asleep. One minute he'd been walking down a street, the next he'd been waking up, just a few minutes earlier. Something had happened. He opened his eyes.

He instantly recognised where he was. Hospital. Shit. What had happened?

"So, you're awake. Eventually." He moved his head slightly and saw the man in the bed opposite watching him. "You've been asleep for ages. I heard someone suggest you were in a coma." The man rolled his eyes to show how ridiculous the idea was.

Oliver frowned, and tried to find some memories that might help him in his current situation. "I don't remember what happened."

"You were hit by a car."

Oliver felt his eyes widen in shock. Gene… but Gene…

"But you were quite lucky. There was a guy here until recently who was hit and he's now paralysed from the waist down."

Oliver didn't feel much pity. Gene had suffered a far worse fate.

"Whoo hoo. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He said stiffly. He shifted slightly and stifled a gasp of pain. He hadn't escaped without any injuries. "How long have I been here?"

"About 3 days. You woke up a few times, but you were so groggy you weren't with it and everyone just let you sleep."

Oliver nodded slightly.

"I'm George. Nice to meet ya." George said.

"Oliver." Oliver said coldly. He could see the disadvantages of getting too friendly with the person who he was going to be opposite for a while. Knowing English hospitals, they were probably going to make him worse before they let him go. George nodded.

"You had quite a few visitors."

Inside Oliver growled. He didn't shut up, did he? "Did I." Oliver said in a tone of voice that normally made people shut up.

"Yeah. I think some would have left flowers but the hospital doesn't allow them."

Oliver was bitterly wishing he wasn't bed-bound at the moment. It hurt to move, and he wanted to make George shut up. His new headache was getting worse by the minute. No, second.

"No need to look so grumpy. They'll bring you lots of food probably. The food here ain't great."

If so many people had visited, surely one could have left a book, or some duct tape. Oliver had never used his PK to manipulate duct tape so it was covering people's mouths, but he was sure it wouldn't hurt to try. He looked at the person in the bed next to him almost pleadingly. It was an old man who was studiously ignoring everything around him. Oliver looked to the bed diagonally across him. This person was studiously watching TV. Oliver sighed and started making plans of way to make George shut up. Preferably forever.

"Who was the pretty girl who came?" George asked casually.

"Hm?" Oliver said distractedly, still thinking.

"There was a pretty girl came who came yesterday. Foreign. I think she said she was Japanese."

Naru frowned. That would be presumably be Madoka, but most people assumed Madoka was English on sight and she wasn't small. Or pretty. Well, Oliver didn't consider her pretty. There was the saying 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' and Oliver had decided a long time ago it was true when faced with 'beautiful' girls, who, Oliver had often thought, needed to realise that orange was not an appealing skin colour and that putting on make-up in such a way you looked either scared, hyper or like an alien was not 'beautiful'.

"She said her name too… what was it… erm… M, I think, it started with M…"

"Madoka?" Oliver asked wearily, exasperated by George's efforts.

"No."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. It wasn't Madoka?

"I don't know then." Oliver considered going back to sleep, or scaring George so that he would stop talking. But if he scared him then he might talk more… but how was he going to go back to sleep when opposite the racket making machine?

"Oh, but you have to know! I hope she comes again… I liked her."

_That's nice. Now be quiet._ Oliver tried to will George to be quiet using his mind.

"Are you sure you don't know her? She stayed for a while. Not doing anything, just sitting and staring at you."

"I'm sure." Even his most steely tone was going unnoticed.

"Unless… you don't think she was just someone who just wanders around hospitals, visiting people who don't have any visitors? Maybe she's an illegal immigrant!"

Oliver was starting to wish the car had left him in a coma, or killed him. It couldn't be worse than the nightmare called George.

"Maybe. Can you please be quiet?" Oliver politely ordered/asked.

George's face immediately fell, as if he was being wronged. Oliver silently breathed a sigh of relief, and tried to get a bit more comfy without actually hurting himself.

"Oh! I remember her name!" George suddenly exclaimed. Oliver considered bonking himself on the head hard enough to send him into unconsciousness. "Mai. That was it. Pretty name, huh?"

Oliver snapped back into reality. "Mai?" he asked. It couldn't be. Mai had erased him from her life, she'd made that clear. Why would she be visiting him in England? "Are you sure that that was her name?"

"I knew you knew her!" George cried, elated. "Yeah, I'm certain."

"Brown hair, brown eyes, short, early twenties?"

"Yep."

Oliver stared. It couldn't be. It was impossible that she'd visited. How would she know what hospital he was in? Madoka could have told the people in Japan that he'd been in a accident, and he was certain at least one of them was in contact with Mai, so it wasn't impossible that she knew of his current situation. But Madoka wouldn't tell everyone what hospital he was in. He remembered his mother telling him that Madoka would soon be coming to England for a short trip, so he'd probably get a visit from her at some point – joy of joys – but Mai...? Where would she get the money to visit, anyway?

* * *

><p><strong>This is a birthday update for Hodgeheg, because I'm too frugallazy to buy her a birthday present. **

**And I know this won't be covered by the story so I'll say this - the main reason why Naru got off lightly was that he instinctively ****used some PK (but obviously he still got hit) and in the anime he can use his PK quite quickly (when Mai drsagged him down a sewer). That's also the main reason why he slept so long.**

**Thank you for all the reviews! Please review~**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Um, Madoka?"

"Yes Mai?"

"Where are we?"

They were standing in an empty street, in front of a pretty townhouse.

"Oh, I left something here the other day." Madoka rang the doorbell.

"Okay." Mai nodded.

"And it's always nice to visit Luella."

"Wait… Luella?" Mai asked, panicked, but then the door opened.

"Madoka! What a pleasant surprise!" Luella exclaimed fondly, greeting her friend. "And Taniyama-san. Nice to see you." Luella switched to accented Japanese.

"It's nice to meet you Davis-san." Mai said awkwardly. "I hope you are well?"

"I'm good, thank you." Mai nodded and followed Madoka into the house. Luella led them into a modest living room, where Madoka sat down on a sofa, patting the seat next to her to encourage Mai to do so too.

"Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?"

"Oooh, tea would be lovely, thank you." Madoka said cheerily. Luella turned to Mai.

"Ermm… nothing, thank you." Luella nodded and moved into the next room. Mai sent Madoka a pleading look.

"Calm down Mai. Luella doesn't bite. Neither dos Martin." Madoka whispered quietly. Luella soon returned with a tea pot and two tea cups. She poured Madoka a cup before pouring one for herself. Madoka and Luella started up a pleasant conversation between the two of them, and Mai took the opportunity to look around the room. Which didn't take long. She sat and twiddled her thumbs, almost wishing that she'd accepted that cup of tea just to give her something to do.

There was the rhythmic thumping of someone coming down the stairs, and she heard them walk into the room next door. Probably Martin, she concluded, missing Madoka's and Luella's knowing glance. There was the sound of drawers being rummaged through nosily, and the general noise of someone searching for something.

"Don't you want to say hello to Madoka?" Luella called, sipping from her tea cup.

"I'd rather not." A cold voice called back. "Mother, where on earth do you keep the painkillers?"

Mai's face drained of colour. She'd know that voice anywhere, even if it was talking in another language. He was here. _He was here!_

"Oh, I'm sorry, is it time for your pain meds?"

"Yes."

"Noll! Don't be so mean!" Madoka protested loudly. "I even visited you in hospital!"

Oliver hadn't stayed in hospital for long, as he'd escaped generally intact from the crash. The doctors had mainly been concerned as to the fact that he'd slept for almost 3 days straight, which was not normal.

"Unfortunately." He appeared, leaning against the doorway. His eyes widened in shock.

"Hi." Mai said simply.

"Mai." He gave her an emotionless look.

Madoka and Luella stood up, giving each other knowing looks, and left, leaving the two of them in the room.

Mai felt her stomach churning. She'd been waiting for this moment for ages. Replaying different scenarios in her head, but now… she didn't know what to say, or what to do.

He strode past her, into the hallway.

"Naru?" She asked hesitantly.

"Come on. Let's go for a walk." He slipped on a pair of shoes and opened the front door, stepping out into the cloudy day. She followed him nervously. _Where's he going?_ They walked down the street, which was still empty.

"It's nice to see you again." She tried.

"It's been four months."

She hung her head. "I'm sorry." She said in a tiny voice, hating the way the words conveyed nothing of what she felt.

"No contact. You didn't come into work. No emails, no calls, no texts. You wouldn't answer any of mine."

"I know-"

"Then why?"

"Why what?" She asked, startled.

"Then why did you come back?"

"Because… I wanted to see you."

"There were plenty of times when you could have seen me before now."

"I know. I'm sorry. But… I got your letter."

"My letter?" He frowned.

"Lin-san gave it to me."

"Lin?" He'd known that at least one person had been in contact with Mai, but he hadn't been expecting it to be Lin. He felt a small surge of jealously, but suppressed it.

She nodded, not catching his eye. "One day he came into the café where I was working, and gave me the letter. It was after you left Japan. He said that he'd found it discarded in your office bin."

He felt his mouth go dry. If she'd gotten the letter then she'd have gotten the ring…

"And? What difference does it make?" He snapped.

She hesitated. "Well…" The clouds above started spitting rain at them, making him look up and almost get a drop in his eye. She held her hand out childishly to catch the fat raindrops, feeling them slash against her palm. "It's raining."

"It'll probably pass. It's only spitting."

She nodded, hardly an expert on English weather. "Anyway… I felt really bad. I wanted to see you."

"And you didn't feel bad about leaving me before I came home? Without saying anything to me? You didn't even have the grace to leave a note, Mai." He spat out. "Didn't you feel bad then? You know, I thought you were better than that."

She gazed sadly at him. He had every right to be bitter and angry and she didn't hold it against him one bit.

"Of course I did. But before…" She trailed off and took a deep breath. The rain became harder, chilling her bones and she wished she'd thought before hand of bringing a rain coat. It wasn't long before her hair and clothes were wet and clingy.

"Shouldn't we find some shelter?" Mai asked, goose bumps appearing on her arms as she shivered.

"No." He said gloomily. He liked the rain. It suited his mood, however cliché it was.

"You'll catch a cold."

"I stopped worrying about that a long time ago."

"Well then, start. What if you get pneumonia or something?"

"I have enough faith in my immune system."

She sighed, moving waterlogged hair out of her eyes. "Listen, Naru."

"Oliver."

She frowned. He'd discarded her nickname for him.

"This is ridiculous. Come on." She grabbed his arm and tugged. He looked at her, almost pleadingly, as though he wanted to be wet and cold and miserable. It really hit her, how much she'd broken him.

_This is what he must have been like just after Gene died._ She realised, wiping her eyes with her arm.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. I want to talk. Please."

"But I'm good at it."

"Hear me out."

"I'm not stopping you." He said stubbornly.

"Fine." She said, giving in. "Just don't catch your death from the rain."

"Another thing I have faith in is medicine in this country."

"Listen, Naru-"

"Oliver."

"Does it really matter what I call you anymore? We know each other well enough. I don't want you to get hurt."

He snorted. "And I'm meant to believe that?"

"I love you, Naru."

"Oh yes. Because leaving without warning is a great sign of love." He spat out sarcastically. "I hear couples do it all the time."

"I left because I thought you didn't love me."

"And why would you think that?"

"Because you weren't talking to me anymore! You just stayed in your office all day! And then you stopped coming home…"

"So you thought I didn't love you anymore?"

"I didn't know what to think! And when I asked you why you stopped coming home you just said it was none of my business!"

"It wasn't."

"It was if it stopped you coming home. And I was so lonely… I thought you were going to leave me. That you'd fallen out of love with me and was too embarrassed to say."

He was silent, water dripping down his face. The rain above them ceased slightly.

"I didn't want to just be another heartbroken girl you left. I honestly thought you didn't care. I only found out I'd hurt you when I read the letter." She toyed with the chain around her neck absentmindedly. Naru's eyes narrowed. He believed her, how could he not when every action told him she was telling the truth, or what she believed to be true, but he was too proud to say so. She had hurt him so much, and though a part of him just wanted to hold her again, part of him wanted her to feel his pain.

"What about my calls? Didn't you think that 'if I didn't care' I wouldn't bother calling you?"

"I… I never thought of that… I just thought that… I don't know what I thought." She pushed back a strand of hair clinging to her wet face. "I wasn't thinking coherently."

"For four months? I know that you often don't think but for four months?"

"And you know Naru, you aren't always the warmest person. And actually if you loved me that much maybe you would share your work problems with me, rather than just telling me it's none of my business. Because that's what many couples do, tell each other that their lives aren't any of the other's business."

Naru said nothing. He knew he wasn't always the easiest person to live with, Luella had told him enough times, but Mai had known to expect that. Mai looked away ashamedly. She was meant to be apologising to him, and here she was, snapping back at him like this was one of their normal quarrels in the office or at home. She could see her point, obviously, but she knew Naru was that sort of person. Always taking the heaviest burden. Always shouldering all the responsibility and blame. She tugged at the chain around her neck again, feeling the wet metal slip through her fingers. Naru frowned minutely, watching her fingers.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap… I just wanted to tell you why I did what I did, and to apologise. I am really sorry."

She looked into his inky blue eyes, hoping that he would believe her. He didn't say anything for a long while, the silence between them only broken by the sound of the rain and the odd car or passerby. He sighed and looked forward, closing his eyes for a few moments.

"Mai."

"Yes?"

"I… "He stopped and took a breath. "You know the saying 'forgive and forget'? I can't do either. I can't forgive and I certainly can't forget."

She looked down at her feet. "I understand." She said in a quiet voice. She'd lost her chance. She'd completely ruined everything.

"Do you?" He mused. "It's not that I don't love you. I just… I don't know what it is Mai. But I just can't…"

"I get it. Don't worry."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for all the reviews ^^<strong>

**I am incapable of updating. I cannot update from home because FF has gone weird on our laptop and we the 'manage stories' list comes up blank. I cannot update form school because FF is blocked, and the school term is finishing next week for Christmas anyway. **

**So I've asked my good friend to update for me.**

**Please review! ****Pretty please?**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Oliver was sitting in his apartment, not really doing anything. A book was open, but he'd discarded it a while ago and was staring out the window now. It'd been a few days since Mai's fumbled apology, and he couldn't get it out of his mind. He remembered Mai admitting she still loved him, hoping that he'd forgive her. He put his head in his hands.

Isn't that what he'd wanted? Mai, wanting him back, admitting she'd made a mistake? He'd dreamed of having Mai back.

So why couldn't he forgive her?

Yes, she'd betrayed him. Yes, she'd hurt him.

But then surely all the more reason to put things back? Like the way they were before?

But could they ever be the same again?

He groaned. He really was not cut out for all this. Give him a logic problem and he could solve it. Give him an emotional problem and he was like a kid, confused and unsure. And he hated it.

He remembered the disappointment on Madoka's face when they'd returned. And then his mother, although only after she'd grabbed a towel and viciously attacked his hair with it in an attempt to 'dry him off'.

This. Was. Pointless. He couldn't focus on anything except his failed love life, and that was where he was having problems. He wanted to grab Mai and never let go. But she'd left him once. Who was to say that she couldn't do it again? Mai did have an awful habit of giving up on people.

But she learnt from her mistakes. Most of the time. So maybe next time it'd be different.

But that was only a maybe. Oliver hated being weak. And Mai had made him weak. She'd broken him too easily, and she could do it again – whether she meant to or not.

He shifted his hands through his hair agitatedly. If only Mai had waited a few more hours, neither of them would be in this mess. He'd have come home and caught her before she'd left, and it would have all been sorted out and she'd have never left and all of this would never have happened. Both of them would be in Japan, happy and content. Life would have been good.

His head told him to be wary and cautious. He didn't want to be hurt again.

Oliver always listened to his head rather than his heart.

But was he really strong enough to say goodbye to Mai, forever, when he had to chance to keep her by his side?

Frustrated, he threw the book at the wall.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure Mai?" Madoka asked gently, eyebrows knitted together.<p>

Mai nodded. "I don't want to stay here any longer. I miss Japan."

"But Noll-"

"If he was going to change his mind, he'd have already done so by now."

"Noll loves you, he really does, but the problem is he always listens to his head, even when he wants to follow his heart. He's probably mulling over it as we speak. It'll take time."

"He's made his decision already, and he'll stick to it. I miss all my friends in Japan and I've already seen most of the sights in London."

"Are you sure Mai? Once you leave there won't be a coming back."

Mai hesitated for a moment before nodding again. "I'm sure. I made a mistake and now I must accept the consequences."

Madoka sighed. "We were so hoping... everyone wanted you to get back together with Noll. He was just so sad… it was like he was in mourning all over again."

Mai's heart felt like it was being wrenched in two. She didn't want to leave Naru, not ever, but Naru never changed his mind. And she couldn't stay forever. England wasn't bad, but she missed her home country.

"I guess you've made up your mind then."

No, not really she hadn't. "Yes, I have."

"At least go to say goodbye to him. He may need a kick up his ass to change his mind."

Mai hesitated. "Okay… But I don't know where he is."

"Holed up in his apartment." She beckoned. "Here, I'll give you the address." Mai came closer. Madoka ripped a piece of paper from a nearby journal and scribbled something on it. "Here. He won't be anywhere else. Apparently he hasn't even gone to work."

Mai nodded, accepting the piece of paper with the curled handwriting on it, reading it. "Okay. Thanks."

* * *

><p>Oliver was deep in thought, yet again, when he was broken from the peaceful stillness by the front door bell ringing. He blinked in surprise. He got up and walked over to the door, not opening it very far in case it was someone he didn't like or want to see. He blinked in surprise again. "Mai?" He questioned.<p>

"Hi."

He opened the door fully, standing aside to let her in. She looked slightly relieved, and he closed the door after her.

"Madoka gave me the address. I hope I'm not disturbing you…"

He shook his head. "No. I wasn't being particularly productive. You can sit down, you know." He added as Mai stood awkwardly in his living area. She sat down on the sofa automatically. He almost smirked. "Why are you here?"

"Well, um…" It was a lot harder to tell him that she'd come to say goodbye than she'd wanted. "I came to talk again."

"About what?"

"I came to say goodbye." She said sadly. Oliver felt his heart plummet, a nasty feeling that he didn't like one bit.

"Goodbye?" He asked, making sure his face betrayed nothing.

One small nod. "I can't stay in England forever. I mean, it's not that I don't like it here, but I miss Japan and all my friends so… I'm going to be leaving soon."

"When?"

"Tomorrow, in the evening."

There was silence for what seemed like a long time.

"Mai…"

"Yes?"

"I…"

"I mean, you probably have work to do, I don't want to intrude…" She said, not standing up.

"No, it's fine. I probably need a break anyway." He said hurriedly, not wanting her to leave, but not wanting to ask her to stay.

"If you're sure…"

"It's fine Mai."

There was another long, silent moment. She coughed. Oliver subconsciously took a deep breath. His heart was screaming at him to just kiss her and get over with it, ask her not to leave, to stay with him, but his head was telling him to be wary, cautious, to get over her and on with his life.

"Excuse me, could I use your bathroom please?" Mai's voice broke through his thoughts.

"What? Oh, sure." She nodded, standing up. "It's down the corridor and first on the left."

Once inside the bathroom, Mai fussed over her appearance in the mirror. She'd never been in such an awkward atmosphere with Naru before this, and she didn't like how things had become so… strained between the two of them. She buried her face in her hands. This was _so_ frustrating.

Back in the living room, Oliver was feeling like doing exactly the same thing. He looked up as Mai reappeared in the doorway, leaning on the doorframe. God, she was so frustrating.

"So, uh, I guess I should be going."

Oliver nodded once. He followed her to the door, watching her pull on her coat and scarf. She opened the door and paused, turning round.

"Goodbye then."

"Goodbye Mai." She turned and shut the door behind her. Oliver leaned back and rested his head against the wall.

Mai stood in the gloomy corridor outside his apartment. That was it, the last time she was going to see him. When Madoka had suggested she go to the flat she had thought that maybe he'd changed his mind. But there was no point in feeling depressed, it was her own fault anyway.

"Mai."

She froze. He had changed his mind, she would turn around and he would be there and tell her he loved her and that she should never leave again and –

"You forgot your gloves."

Oh. She turned around, trying desperately not to cry. "Thanks, Naru." She held her hand out for them, willing it not to shake and give everything away. But he wasn't letting go of them. He was frowning, avoiding looking at her face and instead staring intently at his thumb. Impulsively she darted forwards and clumsily pressed her lips to his rough cheek.

She grabbed her gloves and without glancing back, she walked down the corridor, leaving a surprised Oliver standing there.

* * *

><p>"<em>I'm so sorry, more than you think, and I love you so so much,"<em>

Oliver paused, closing his eyes and remembering her parting words whispered earnestly into his ear. Damnit, she was going tomorrow and he'd never see her again. He jumped up. He was decided, even if it was possibly one of the worst decisions of his life but he couldn't just sit here and do nothing but wallow in self pity for the next few months. He grabbed his coat and scarf and opened the door, just glancing in the mirror first. Ah. Maybe first he would shave.

* * *

><p><strong>I dunno. The concept of Naru shaving is a bit odd to me (as he's a fictional character and all)... but it's better than him having, like, a beard or something o_0<strong>

**Please review \(*o*)/**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Oliver raced up the stairs, taking two at a time until he came to the right landing, checking the number on the wall to make sure. He paused, checking his memory, before making his way over to the door. He pressed the doorbell, hearing it ring faintly from inside, and not before long he heard a set of muffled, hurried footfalls. The door opened, and Oliver automatically stuck his foot inside to prevent the door being slammed on him. It'd happened before, and although he was pretty confident that this time it wouldn't be shut in his face, he never knew with Madoka.

"Noll!" Madoka exclaimed, surprised. "What are you doing here?" She asked it more out of politeness than curiosity. She was pretty sure why he was here, but you never knew with Oliver.

"Mai's staying here, isn't she?" He asked accusingly, eyebrow raised.

"Of course. I knew you'd work it out." She said, slightly smug.

"Is she in?" He ignored her comment.

"Yes." A smile tugged the corners of her mouth upwards.

"Is she busy?"

"Erm…" Madoka paused for a moment, titling her head slightly. "Not really."

"Can you call her, please? I'd like to talk to her."

"Sure." She turned her head. "Mai?" She called. "Someone's here to see you."

"Huh?" He faintly heard in the background. "Okay, I'm coming."

Mai appeared in the doorway. Her eyes widened with shock and delight. "N-Naru? What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He sighed. "Come on, grab your coat. Not your gloves, you have a tendency to forget about them."

"What?" Madoka asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm taking Mai out." Mai re-appeared, dressed in coat and scarf.

"You're taking me out?" Mai asked.

"Isn't that what I said?"

"Um, yeah…" Mai blushed and looked down at her feet.

Madoka sighed dramatically, flicking hair over her shoulder. "I guess I'll see you later then Mai."

Mai nodded. "Okay. Bye!"

Oliver nodded once, and set off, his hands in his pockets, knowing that before the door had even shut that Madoka had reached for her phone and was telling everyone, and he should expect a call from his parents and/or Madoka herself later this evening or at the latest (if they could contain themselves for that long) tomorrow morning.

Mai followed him, smiling happily. "How did you know where I was staying?" She asked.

"Simple. I doubt you have enough money for a decent hotel, especially if you were staying for an unspecified amount of time as then a hotel would be unpractical. I know you wouldn't let Madoka, or anyone else for that matter, pay for a hotel. As you've never been to London before it would make sense to stay with someone. That someone would have to be Madoka."

Mai paused. "Yeah." They left the building together. She gave him a sideways glance.

"You shaved."

"Hm? Um, yeah."

"So… what did you want to talk to me about?"

He hesitated for a moment, looking down. It was all very well _saying_ that you were going to do something, but actually doing it was a completely different manner. Even if it was to stop the girl you love leaving you again.

"Are you hungry?" He found his mouth saying, whether his mind had thought up the question first was a mystery.

"Starving. There's a cute little café a couple of streets away…"

Oliver sighed. He always was nervous when Mai used words like 'cute' or 'charming' or 'great atmosphere' to describe buildings. Especially cafes.

"Why do you always prefer cafes?" He asked.

"Because they're so sweet, and friendly. Restaurants so busy and crowded."

He frowned. "But they serve food."

"Cafes serve food too."

"Not proper food."

"Oh yeah, and define 'non-proper' food."

He sighed. He was meant to be stopping her from going back to Japan, and here he was, bickering with her about cafes, restaurants and food.

"Food that isn't proper." He could barely believe himself. Seriously, what was he doing?

"Oh, wow, that's what you call a definition?"

"I never said it was."

"Can we just go to a restaurant? There's plenty in London."

"But I want to go to a café. Please?"

Oliver was not in the mood for a small, 'cute' café, where they would probably be the only ones there and the waitress would probably be a bored teen doing work experience and he'd rather have a _private_ conversation.

"I've got a compromise."

"Oh?"

"Takeaway."

"You are… suggesting that… we get… a_ takeaway_?" Mai gasped, wondering if he tripped on the way to Madoka's and hit his head.

"As I said, it's a compromise."

"Oh… So should we go back to Madoka's then?" Mai's heart fell.

"Why would we go back to Madoka's?" He asked, slightly surprised that she'd agreed.

"Well, we'd have to eat it somewhere…"

"We can find a bench somewhere, I'm sure."

"You mean, eat outside?" Mai looked up at the clouds unhappily.

"...And?"

"What if it rains again? I'd prefer to eat inside."

He saw his opportunity, and grabbed it (metaphorically) with both hands.

"Okay then." He shrugged. "We'll eat inside."

They carried on walking,

"So... why aren't we going back to Madoka's then?" She asked confusedly.

"We can eat at mine." He said nonchalantly.

"At yours?"

"…Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Er, no…"

"So it's sorted. I probably have some takeaway menus tucked away. You'd be surprised how many takeaway menus you get here in England."

"Oh. Okay." She brightened up considerably.

* * *

><p>Mai observed all the shiny leaflets that had been spread out.<p>

"So… it's basically Indian or Indian? Or… Dom-in-ohs?" She asked.

"I meant to throw that away. This one's Chinese." Oliver said, pointing to one leaflet.

"Why are most of them Indian?"

"I think that one does Thai food as well… what does it say?" He murmured, as if talking to himself, reaching for one leaflet.

"Naru, why are there so many Indian takeaways?"

"Curry."

"Huh?"

"Curry is very popular in England."

"Oh."

Mai skim read a leaflet. Then she sighed.

"What do you want?" She tried.

"I don't mind."

"Er, so I guess it's up to me…" Her stomach rumbled loudly. Oliver raised an eyebrow. Then Mai sighed, closed her eyes and picked one at random. "This one."

They quickly selected their dishes and Oliver ordered them on the phone.

"You don't mind, do you…?"

"Mind what?"

"You know… eating here."

"No, it's fine." Mai sighed internally. It was more than fine, but if he wanted her back, then why on earth was he talking to her about food?

There was a long silence.

"So… Why did you want to see me?" Mai tried.

He looked away, unable to meet her hopeful eyes. After the moment rang out without him saying anything she looked down, starting to feel teary again. He wouldn't even look at her, let alone him actually talking. She wasn't expecting him to go down on one knee and compare his love to moonbeams or some such cheesy thing – if he did, she'd probably scream and faint and demand the Naru she fell in love with back – but a 'I love you, don't leave' was perfectly fine. Just 5 words…

"Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying!" She protested, her head snapping back up.

"You look like you're going to."

She gazed levelly at him. "You didn't answer my question."

Oliver glanced away. Say it now, idiot, say it now… Why was it so scary? It's not like they hadn't been through this before. Well, actually technically Mai had made the move, but still, he had asked… afterwards…

The doorbell rang. They both glanced at the door, before Oliver jumped up.

"That was quick." He mused. Soon the apartment was filled with the aroma of warm, spicy food. Mai jumped up and ran to help him serve, despite her disappointment.

"That smells so good…" Mai sniffed appreciatively.

* * *

><p>"Oh I'm so full!" Mai groaned. "Why did I eat so much?"<p>

Oliver raised an eyebrow. He had always wondered how so much food disappeared into such a tiny body, and yet she was always so slim.

"Because you liked it." He said matter-of-factly.

"Well thanks for enlightening me." She pulled a face. "I should go home though, it's getting late…"

"No." He said, a bit too quickly. Mai smiled slightly, she knew she was right. He had made up his mind.

Oliver glanced at Mai. He could see that she knew he'd decided. So there was no point dancing around the subject any more, he just had to man up.

"I mean, please don't leave." He said slower.

"Ok, ok. If you have a spa-"

"No, I mean… don't leave me. Again." He winced internally. Maybe he shouldn't have put that 'again' on the end.

"I won't."

"And no, I don't have a spare bedroom."

"I only said that to get you to hurry up…"

"You're not that good at being manipulative." He put his hand on her waist and pulled her closer, automatically leaning down…

"What, so now I got you to say it, it's ok for you to start insulting me again? Well if-"

She was broken off by Oliver's lips meeting hers, forcing the words away. They paused for a moment, surprised by what had just happened, before starting again, their lips moving in sync. The kissed clumsily, pushing their faces together, their tongues exploring each other's mouth in a heady mixture of warm breath and pent up desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs, guiding her legs around his hips, pulling her up to his level. She wrapped her hands around his neck, running her hands through his tousled hair.

"Where did you say that bedroom was?" She asked breathlessly.

"I didn't."

"Always the spoil sport…" She grinned, lightly hitting his head.

* * *

><p>Oliver distractedly tucked a piece of hair behind Mai's ear. She was still asleep, and for the moment he was perfectly content to just lie there, half cradling Mai.<p>

…Until she woke up. "What time is it?" Her sleepy voice reached his ears.

"I don't know." He confessed. In reality, he didn't care.

She snuggled into him, drawing patterns against his skin lightly with her fingers.

"I love you." She mumbled.

"I love you too. Despite your habit of giving up on me."

"Oh my God, I do not 'give up' on you." She twisted round to face him. "We just had a communication problem…" She grumbled.

"I promise not to not talk to you then."

"And I promise not to jump to conclusions." She leant forwards and kissed his forehead softly. "Deal?"

Oliver nodded. Mai smiled. She gently pressed her lips to his, then again less gently. And then the phone rang.

"Hello?" It was on Oliver's side of the bed.

"Noll? I am surprised to hear you answer Mai's phone…" Madoka greeted.

"I'm sure you are." Oliver gritted his teeth. Now he would have to listen to her telling him how she was always right in 'these things' (though she never specified which things they were) for the next half hour.

"Didn't I tell you this would happen Luella?" He heard Madoka's voice rise an octave or two. He groaned.

"What do you want?" He growled.

"Well just the gossip from Mai-chan of course. You know, why she didn't return."

"Madoka it's… 8:30 in the morning."

"No time like the present! Anyway tell Mai that I've cancelled her flight, and not to leave herself logged on to anything next time she uses somebody else's computer, you don't know what mischief they might get up to…"

"Consider it done." He hung up before she could say anything else. And turned the phone off, just for good measure. He lay down again, curling himself around Mai.

"What did Madoka want?" She asked over her shoulder.

"To gloat."

"Over?"

"Over her getting-people-together methods. Oh, and she's cancelled your flight."

"Hmm. I still want to go back though."

"We'll go back, just not immediately." He nuzzled her shoulder.

"What will we do? Madoka's already taken me sightseeing."

"She's shown you the tourist attractions I'm sure, I'll show you the places I think are interesting."

"In a mo…" She snuggled into the warm body behind her, not wanting to get up for a while.

"In a mo." Oliver agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for all the lovely reviews! :hug:<strong>

**And I'd just like to say...**

**NARU DOES NOT HAVE FACIAL HAIR.**

**But if he doesn't shave for a few days hair starts to grow. Like on your legs. And men's chins. (I'm being sexist here and asuming guys aren't reading this). Unless Naru just happens to be one of the guys who can't grow facial hair, which is highly unlikely.  
><strong>

**And no, takeaways in England do not come that quickly... **

**Anyway.**

**The main reason this took so long was the kissing scene.**

**It took us, like, 3 months to write that.**

**Epilouge or not?**

**Please review!**

**Any questions about the story, just review and I'll reply.  
><strong>


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